Cassandra immediately stood up, sword in hand and ready to fight. The dragon roared next to her at the creature in front of them. In all the books of mythology that Cassandra had read, she always pictured the Minotaur to be the size of a normal man. Tall and strong, but still a reasonable size where she could use her sword fighting skills to kill it.
As it turns out, the Minotaur was NOTHING like that. It was about 20 feet tall at least. Its hands were large enough for her to sit in. To make matters worse, the teeth was what was getting to her. Oh, the teeth were so long, she was sure it would rip her throat out if it had the chance.
A large hand swiped against the ground where Cassandra stood and the princess flew backwards. The dragon swooped under Cassandra and caught her in mid air. Together, the dragon and the princess fought against the Minotaur.
Every time the dragon blew fire onto the monster, he screamed in pain. "Fire must be the answer." Cassandra told the dragon. "Get closer and maybe we can do some damage."
The dragon roared in agreement.
"Hiya!" Cassandra kicked the dragon and they went to aim right at his heart. "Not to the center, more to the left towards the heart!" She yelled above the minotaur's loud screeches.
Just as the dragon was about to blow some more fire, the Minotaur struck. Its sharp claws cut through the dragon's neck, blood gushing everywhere. "NOO!" Cassandra screamed. The dragon fell, not able to do anything.
They landed with a loud thud. Cassandra got off and started to inspect the dragon after throwing a few fireballs to distract the monster.
"Oh no." This was a creature that was too big for her to heal on her own. She fished around for healing water, only to pull up an empty vial, remembering that she had used it to heal herself. "Damn it! Oh hell. How am I supposed to do this?" She tried to frantically think of an idea to save her scaly friend.
One thing that she had always been taught was to never get distracted especially in battle. "An enemy can strike out of nowhere. You can never let your guard down." Her tutor had said. Unfortunately, she did not heed his warnings at this moment.
The Minotaur came back to swipe at her. The princess would've died had the dragon not summoned all of its energy to throw it self in front of Cassandra. The monster stepped onto the dragon's neck and tore at its heart.
"No! No please stop!" Cassandra was getting hysterical. She couldn't let someone else sacrifice themselves for her. She already lost her baby, she couldn't lose a new friend. She just couldn't.
Looking desperately at the healing vial, inspiration came into her head. She fished around and found the vials from the waters the inhibited one's sense of magic that she had gotten from the time she was with the centaurs.
"HEY YOU UGLY BUFFALO!"
The Minotaur turned its attention to Cassandra.
"Yeah you! Get a load of this!"
The princess ran and used the dragon's hard scales as a boost. She doused the water onto the Minotaur's face. It screamed, clawing at the magic. After that brief second, it couldn't find Cassandra in the darkness from temporary loss of magic. The princess climbed a ledge, hoping to not be seen. This is now or never. Counting to three, she kept off, landing on the monster's back.
It felt her, and tried to swat her away. Cassandra whispered a spell into her sword, enchanting it with magic. She shoved it into the monster's lower back. Another loud scream. She shoved it into the other side to hit his other kidney. Doing some more climbing, she flipped to his front and dragged her sword deep into where his heart was and commanded the sword to light on fire.
Not even a few seconds had passed before the Minotaur was covered in flames, screaming in agony. Cassandra leapt off and watched as the fire disintegrated the beast. The only thing that was left was her sword.
She rushed towards her dragon with a large knot in her throat. "No, Dragon, please don't leave me." The dragon looked at her, obviously in pain. No matter how much Cassandra tried to save it, her efforts were in vain and she knew it. She stroked the dragon's nose, giving it comfort.
"Here, something to numb the pain. Open your mouth." She popped in some oxycontin tablets into the dragon's mouth. The dragon wrapped its body around Cassandra to provide some illusion of safety. "You don't have to be brave. It's okay." She wiped the dragon's tears. "I'm here for you. You saved my life. Thank you."
And she opened her mouth to sing a lullaby that her father often sang to her, still giving comfort to the dragon. She watched as the dragon gave her a grateful look before drifting off into a forever sleep.
Cassandra got out her sewing kit, closing the dragon's wound to make it look more peaceful. Putting her hands together, she commanded fire to consume the mighty creature, cleansing its body as it drifted off into the Labyrinth. Her body was soaked with tears and the dragon's blood, but she didn't care. When she was done honoring her brave friend, she walked towards an opening and into the Underworld.
The air was thick with the scent of corpses. It disgusted Cassandra and she covered her face with a handkerchief. Ceberus was easy, just giving them some jerky and they just left her alone. This disgusting air, on the other hand, was sure to suffocate her.
The princess tried to not think about the copious amount of skeletons that lined the walkways as decoration. She had a task before her and could not afford another distraction. Wrapping a dark blue cloak around her for protection, Cassandra spotted a green and musty colored river. Eerie sounds escaped from it. The closer she got, the louder the sounds became. She looked in and saw vague outlines of dead creatures. The lost souls, she realized. Drifting forever in pain, never to find their way again.
"May I help you, miss?" A man in a dark hooded cloak approached Cassandra. "You are not dead." He noted, tilting his head to the side.
"No, I am not. You must be Charon. I need safe passage to see Queen Persephone." She gave a small and respectful curtesy before dropping a golden coin into his hand. He held his hand out to help the princess into the boat. Cassandra could feel that his hand was weathered and old. She felt sorry for him, endlessly transporting people, never leaving this place.
"Don't touch the water. Keep your body in the boat and I will make sure that you travel safely."
She nodded. "Thank you, Charon."
When they reached their destination, Cassandra felt that she was going to be sick. All the smell and the screams were overwhelming her senses. Luckily, Charon caught her before she fell in. "Careful princess." He stood her straight up.
"Thank you again. I will need you when I get back." Charon gave her a single nod. "And I will be here when you are ready." He walked towards his boat and sailed away, not looking back at Cassandra.
"Alright, I have today, tomorrow, and one more day after that to finish this task." She told herself. Bracing herself, she walked through the granite pillars and into the throne room.
It was decorated beautifully, although quite dark for her taste. Scarlet red curtains draped the walls, embroidered with stories of the past. There was Hades offering Persephone a pomegranate and another of him being ruler of the Underground. The thrones themselves were of gold and silver, embellished with diamonds on the head. On the taller throne sat a man with a black crown with gold lining its edges.
His skin was pale as snow, most likely from spending all of his time away from the sunlight. His hair was jet black and his eyes were a dark green, same as the River Styx. His robe matched his crown, all black with golden edges. The presence and power he commanded made Cassandra sink to her knees in respect. "Lord Hades." She greeted.
"Ah, Queen Cassandra."
The princess shook her head. "No. I am not coronated to be queen yet." She humbly told the Lord of the Underground.
Hades walked down the steps from his throne to stand in front of her. "You are married to Anterian's king. Therefore, you are a queen. What brings the daughter of King Jareth and Queen Sarah to my realm?"
There was something off about Hades. His voice didn't just make her feel intimidated, but it was alluring. It was seductive, almost intoxicating. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before rising up to meet his gaze. Focus, she told herself.
"I am here to speak to Persephone. There is a trade I could perhaps make with her." At this, Hades raised an eyebrow. He lifted her chin up and looked into her mismatched eyes. His other hand came up to play with her blonde hair. "Why, Cassandra. What business could you have with the Queen that you cannot solve with me?"
A large grumble escaped her stomach. Cassandra looked away, embarrassed.
"Oh, what a terrible host I am!" Hades said. "I didn't even offer you food or a place to stay. I'm sure you need something, seeing as you've traveled so far in the Labyrinth."
He waved his hand and numerous plates of food filled the hall. Cassandra had to control herself from drooling. It had been three weeks since she had good food, a decent place to sleep, and a proper shower. Her wounds from her miscarriage was not yet healed either.
Hades rested his hand on the base of her neck. "Come. Won't you dine with me? You must be famished. Then you can take a nice bubble bath." He lifted a goblet of wine to her lips. "Drink, my lady." His voice became dark and excited.
Just as the wine almost touched her lips, Cassandra remembered Troy's warning and pushed it away. "No." She turned around to look at Hades, who's lips were in a tight frown. "I don't know what you think you're doing, but it's not going to work. Please take me to where your Queen is."
Hades made three tsk sounds. "Cassandra! Don't you realize how rude that is, to offend a host and to accuse him of anything other than hospitality? Please. I insist. You can even get your body checked by my personal physician from your fall and consequent miscarriage." He once again put his hand on her back and lead her to the food.
The last sentence snapped Cassandra to attention. She stopped walking and stared at hades, hand on the hilt of her sword. "What did you say? How do you know about my miscarriage?"
Hades started to back up, fear in his eyes. With a wave, Cassandra encased his hands in shackles. "You aren't Hades! Show yourself! I command you!"
Hades screamed in agony from the iron chains and his shape shifted. A beautiful woman with lovely brown hair was glaring at Cassandra. The princess gasped. "You! You're the siren that tried to kill me!" She grabbed the front of her robe she shoved her into a wall. "You killed my child!" Cassandra hissed. "You murderer! You killed the heir of the throne to Anterian and a god! Tell me your name before I take you to my parent's kingdom and throw you into the Bog of Eternal Stench! NOW!"
The woman spat at Cassandra, but the princess did not react. She spoke, every word dripped with anger. "Molpe. My name is Molpe."
The name sounded familiar to Cassandra, but she could not for the life of her figure it out. Then, it hit her. "YOU. You're Zarek's whore! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND?!" She screeched at the brunette. "You manipulated the High King and killed a child of a god! You will have HELL TO PAY!"
Cassandra noticed a locket next to her body. Ripping it off, she opened it to find different strands of hair. "Shapeshifting potion." She whispered. Shapeshifting requires that a lock of hair from someone must be used. She found a lock of her own hair in the mix as well.
"I don't know what you're planning to do with me or how you got this, but I'll deal with you later!" She sent a large jolt of electricity through Molpe's body, making her pass out. She stuffed the siren into the small bag with unlimited space.
Sighing, she walked on, hoping to find the Queen of the Underworld.
Cassandra found the Goddess of Spring passing judgement onto the dead, wondering how much longer it would take and whether she should interrupt or not. Luckily, Persephone noticed the young fey and told her subjects to wait.
Where Hades was dark, Persephone was light. Her skin was slightly tanned from the sun. Her hair was a golden color, bounding around and her dress was white. A rose-gold crown sat on her curly locks. She emanated happiness and radiance. Or she would, if she did not look so angry at Cassandra.
She folded her arms angrily and yelled at Cassandra to stand from her bow. "Princess, I already gave you a drop of beauty, one that you obviously don't need seeing as you're more beautiful than the goddesses themselves! What do you want now?"
Cassandra blinked in surprise. "My queen, I don't know what you're saying. I assure you that this is the first time I've ever seen you. There was a siren that was using a Shapeshifting potion. You have to believe me!"
Persephone huffed. "Sure. That's what they all say. Uh uh, nope! Do not speak!" She pushed a finger onto Cassandra's lips. "If what you're saying is true, how would I know which is the real you?"
Cassandra sighed. "I don't know what would satisfy you, your majesty. If it helps, may I offer you a token in exchange for a drop of spring? Not beauty." She was tired and though her nature was to get into an argument, she knew that she was running out of time and needed to make way to Ina's palace still.
"What is your offer?" Persephone continued to glare. She didn't like anyone that wasted her time.
Cassandra opened her bag, and brought out a box. "Queen Persephone. I present to you, the head of Medusa." She knelt and offered her the head.
"Medusa? You slew her?" Persephone took the sack in her arms, feeling for the snake heads. "This indeed is her head. Alright princess, you have a deal." She handed the box to her. "Do not open it. Present it straight to the Queen Mother. And get out of my Kingdom!"
Cassandra had never felt so elated to leave this god forsaken Labyrinth (which is ironic since two gods resided just beneath it). After hopping off of Charon's boat, the young princess ran, not knowing where the exit was. She just kept running until a light shone directly above her head. It was a blue orb, and she said "take me to Queen Ina's palace!"
She did some calculations. Oh no. She had only half a day left to make the journey. She was tired, mentally and physically. Could she do it?
Thinking back to her dream with Troy, she forced herself to move on. She could do it. "For my family, for my new Kingdom and for the Goblin Kingdom, I can and will do it!"
